I have written and re-written these words numerous times over the last three days. The act of reflection hurts, and it feels as if this process offers my acknowledgment of a new reality - and I am not ready to acknowledge a world without Gary Marsden. Often you find that people wait until death to reflect on how wonderful their loved ones were, with Gary these sentiments of admiration were present even in his life. We gushed about his brilliance and kindness to anyone who would listen - he was just that kind of person: he triggered instant fandom from his students.
He inexorably changed my life forever and I am thankful for the series of events that afforded me the once in a lifetime opportunity to share place, space and mind with one of the greatest people I could ever plan on knowing.
I was given the e-mail address of one Gary Marsden in 2010 - seeking a place to pursue mobile research after I had an ethical falling out with the advertising industry. As a visual designer, I felt that my skills could be put to better use than continuously trampling on "the little guy" in pursuit of corporate profit. And I had heard about this Irish guy at UCT who was saving the world through mobile technology. He responded with enthusiasm and a carefully considered advice - as I didn't have the credentials to pursue a masters in computer science, he referred me to his colleague and close friend Marion Walton, who became my personal Yoda at the film and media department over those next two years. Gary offered me a working space in his lab and was always around to offer input, suggest creative collaborations with his students, or design jobs when funds were wearing thin.
If Gary was Nikola Tesla, Marion was his Mark Twain - the stream of discourse that came pouring out when you put the two of them together in a room was electric and inspiring - it taught me that our best ideas emerge in dialogue with others’ ideas, that we radically underestimate how our cognition is driven by collective (and collected) stories, and that it wasn't worth doing something if you weren't excited and passionate about it to the point of moral urgency. I felt like I had won the lottery when Gary became my co-supervisor at the start of 2013, and the stars were finally aligning in my quest to change the world, through our research into practical mobile technologies for young resource-constrained creatives. The two of them worked as a hyper-efficient tag team - guiding me through studies that spoored the line between cultural studies, ethnography, visual communications, design, ICT and HCI research; hustling for money to get our work done; ticking all the bureaucratic boxes; yet always, always having fun.
I'm not your classic ICT4D lab type, but Gary always made sure that I felt I belonged there - despite being an art school kid in a computer science world. He always supported my ideas (even if they could be a bit out there) and entertained my creative whims - outlining budget for lab plants after I bemoaned the lack of greenery in our workspace; offering to buy a pin up board after I mentioned the fact that I couldn't visualize my research on the walls; and having long mid-day debates about philosophy, music and design.
Gary and I especially bonded over rock 'n roll and britpop - I was enthralled by his tales of being a roadie for his friends' bands around the UK as a young student. Although he was a serious mentor and supervisor - he could just as easily fill the position of cool older cousin at times when you needed a friend. His creativity and sense of humour created an environment where one second he was Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the bond villain, stroking a stuffed white cat to indicate trouble; referring to his students as his "minions" a la Despicable Me; the next we were going on lab fieldtrips to celebrate his pride in Mo's newly found fame as a KFC tv star, and buying wheels to attach to all the furniture in the lab, rocking his hawaiian shirt in a mini-revolt against the tyranny of the formal tie and shirt ensemble. The working environment was never stale, he made sure that we were a proper living lab - and we were a vibrant organism because of him.
I want to let Gil, Holly and Jake know how much he spoke about you to his students, constantly. He was so proud of his kids. When I told him about anxiety issues I was having relating to my studies, and nightmares that placed me back in school unprepared for exams, he put stuff in perspective in that typical Gary way by telling me that his anxious nightmares revolved around never having met Gil. That as a "lifelong geek" he never freaked out about studies or preparedness, but about not meeting his soulmate - and that was the worst thing he could ever imagine.
Holly, I constantly prodded him about you - cause I was such a nightmare to my family at your age. And he just said how much he enjoyed your sense of humour - that it was like having a satirist in his house 24/7! He said he was so proud of the friends you surrounded yourself with, he didn't worry about you at all.
Jake, I think you are like a little carbon copy of your dad - and it's one of the things I loved most about spending time at your guys' house - just seeing this monumental man present in his kids. He constantly spoke about your blooming intelligence.
I am heartbroken that he won't be around to see us completing the research we have been jumping through hoops to try and get signed off. I have been given opportunities that would have been impossible without his unwavering support. He was my champion - and I am deeply moved when I think of the amount of times him and Marion have bailed me out of difficult situations. whether they were financial, research related, or personal. I'm saddened that future students have been robbed of his immense spirit. He gave us more of his time and dedication than we ever deserved - and we will miss him every single day.
The ICT4D lab will always be The Gary Marsden Lab to me. Cheers Gary.
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